Key Deer

Description:

This deer can be recognized by its characteristic size, smaller than all other White-tailed deer. Adult males (known as bucks) usually weigh 25–34 kilograms (55–75 lb) and stand about 76 centimetres (30 in) tall at the shoulder. Adult females (does) usually weigh between 20–29 kilograms (44–64 lb) and have an average height of 66 centimetres (26 in) at the shoulders. The deer is a reddish-brown to grey-brown in color. Antlers are grown by males and shed between February and March and regrown by June. When the antlers are growing, they have a white velvet coating. The species otherwise generally resembles other white-tailed deer in appearance.

Habitat:

The range of the Key Deer originally encompassed all of the lower Florida Keys (where standing water pools exist), but is now limited to a stretch of the Florida Keys from about Sugarloaf Key to Bahia Honda Key. Key deer use all islands during the wet season when drinking water is more generally available, retreating to islands with a perennial supply of fresh water in dry months. Key Deer inhabit nearly all habitats within their range, including pine rocklands, hardwood hammocks, mangroves, and freshwater wetlands. The species feed on over 150 types of plants, but mangroves (red, white, and black) and thatch palm berries make up the most important part of their diet. Pine rockland habitat is important as well because it is often the only reliable source of fresh drinking water (Key Deer can tolerate drinking only mildly brackish water). Habitat destruction due to human encroachment cause many deer to feed on non-native ornamental plant.